Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Back to School, Back to Homework


The 27,000 students in my boys’ district begin school tomorrow. By this time during the summer, most parents and students have mixed feelings about going back to school. I’ll be glad to get into a regular routine again, and the excitement of a new school schedule and seeing friends will encourage my kids as they begin a new school year.

But I will dread watching my boys get frustrated and panic-stricken over the inevitable long and dreary homework assignments and tests likely to come sooner than later.

To help prepare myself for this, I’m going to reread our district’s homework policy. You can read the SRVUSD homework policy here. If you access the link, you will see that I have highlighted my favorite parts of the policy in red.

I think all parents and older students in any district should acquaint themselves with their district’s homework policy at the beginning of every school year. In fact, I think it should be included in the registration materials. I helped rewrite my district’s homework policy and you can read about that experience here.

If you or your child finds yourself in a homework situation you aren’t comfortable with during the school year, feel free to reference parts of the district’s homework policy in your communications with the teachers or administrators.

Enjoy the homework free moments you have with your children this school year. Make sure you don’t over schedule your child. Ask him or her before signing up for activities. A child gains much from downtime, boredom and relaxation. Give your child the gift of free time this school year.

4 comments:

  1. Beautifully written. Great direction!

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  2. Thank you Kerry for being a voice that resonates so loudly for me and supports my values as our daughter starts the school year. Thanks for all your hard work! Look forward to your blog as the school year unfolds.

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  3. I'm a reader in Massachusetts. I love your blog and find it very helpful.

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  4. Thank you for helping pass this policy in the SRV school district. In the past couple years, my experience in this district is that most teachers disregard the policy entirely. Last year my 8th grader had an average of 3-4 hours of homework a night, with homework every weekend. I quoted the policy, but the school didn't care. At back to school this week (at middle school), not one teacher mentioned the policy. In fact in one teacher said in her class alone, there would be one hour of homework a night.

    Do you have advice on how to approach the school?

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